Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

The race to succeed Angela Merkel as the leader of Germany’s ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) is on a knife-edge, as the final stages of the leadership contest re-open ancient political divisions among the party’s old guard.

Some 1001 party delegates will gather in Hamburg on Friday for a series of votes to elect a new party leader, who will instantly become odds-on favourite to be Germany’s next Chancellor and the leader of Europe’s most powerful economy when Mrs Merkel retires.